2023 – 2025. “Millenium nucleus in Andean Peatlands”.  Ecology & Climate research line. AndesPeat (NCS2022_024). As a associate investigator.

2023 – 2027. “Revealing past variations in coastal fog moisture during the Holocene using buried Tillandsia landbeckii dune ecosystems in the Atacama Desert” FONDECYT REGULAR (N° 1231820). Co-investigator.

2023 – 2024. “Manejo del paisaje para la seguridad hídrica de las personas”. Concurso Regional Fondo de Innovación para la competitividad FIC-R 2022. Gobierno Regional del Biobío. Investigador consultor. 

2022 – 2023. “Past and presente impacts of megadroughts in high Andean lakes of northern and central Chile”. Concurso Fondo de Investigación Estratégica en Sequía (Asignación Rápida) año 2021. FSEQ210021. Investigador Asociado.

2021 – 2023. “Paleo-LINCGLOBAL: la dimensión temporal del Antropoceno y los impactos del Cambio Global en lagos en Iberoamérica”. Proyecto de Cooperación Científica Iberoamericana. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Española INCGLO0029. Investigador Principal.

2020 – 2022 “Applicability of bacterial membrane lipids as temperature and pH proxies in continental settings” Proyecto de Intercambio Francia-Chile. Programa de Cooperación Científica ECOS-ANID (N°190011). Investigador Principal.

2020 – 2022 “Determining the sensitivity of lake sediment proxies to late Holocene climate variability: a test from a longitudinal study in Northern Patagonia across the Andes” FONDECYT REGULAR (N° 1201277).  Co-Investigador.

2019 – 2021 “Assessing a regional hydroclimate signal from southern South America for the last two millennia through a suite of lake sediment biogeochemical records” FONDECYT REGULAR (N° 1190398). Investigador principal.

2019 – 2021 “The impact of wildfire severity on soil pyrogenic carbon across contrasting fire-prone ecosystems in central Chile: Temporal dynamics and related-effects on soil properties.” FONDECYT REGULAR (N° 1191905). Co-Investigador.

2018 – 2020  “Hydroclimatic influence on estuarine-land interactions in northern Chilean Patagonia (Reloncaví fjord): Impacts on organic matter, sustainable resources, and human health” FONDECYT (N° 3180307). Co-Investigador.

2016 – 2018 “Constraining the hydroclimate gradient in Southern South America using molecular isotopic proxies” FONDECYT REGULAR (N° 1160719). Investigador Principal.

2016 – 2018 “Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and emergent compounds (EC) in the marine food web of Central Chile: What is the influence of emergent pollutants such as Microplastics?” FONDECYT REGULAR (N° 1161673). Co-Investigador.

2015-2016. “Constraining the hydroclimate gradient in Southern South America using molecular isotopic proxies”. UCSC-IPFE (N°01/2015). Investigador Principal.

2014-2016. “Restringiendo la variabilidad hidroclimática del sur de Sudamérica a través de proxies geoquímicos lacustres”. CONICYT-Programa de Atracción e Inserción de Capital Humano Avanzado (PAI) (N° 79130036). Investigador Principal.

2014-2015. “Dynamic of air-water and sediment-water exchange of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): What is the role of Concepción Bay in the local and regional distribution of POPs in Central Chile?”. CONICYT/FONDECYT (N° 1130329). Co-Investigador.

2014-2015. “Downslope Andean winds in Southern-Central Chile”. CONICYT/FONDECYT (N° 1131092). Investigador Colaborador.

2014-2015. “Environmental changes in Chilean Patagonia caused by historical fires generated during the 20th Century settlement: evaluating lacustrine ecosystems resilience”. CONICYT/FONDECYT (N° 1120765). Investigador Colaborador.

2014-2015. “Pesticidas Organoclorados presentes en sedimentos superficiales de un sistema de fiordos: el aporte de los glaciales de campos de hielo norte y sur, Patagonia, Chile”. CIMAR 20 Fiordos (N° CONA C20F 14-04). Investigador Colaborador.

2014-2015. “Distribución de Pesticidas Organoclorados (POC’s) presentes en agua y material particulado-suspendido (MPS) en el continuo fiordo-mar interior-océano, desde el estero de Reloncaví a la Boca del Guafo (39,5°S-44°S)”. CIMAR 19 Fiordos (N° CONA C19F 13-08). Investigador Colaborador.

2012-2013. “Constraining the latitudinal variability in southern South American hydroclimate through lacustrine geochemical proxies”. Seed grant, Global Programs and Strategy Alliance, University of Minnesota, USA. Co-Investigador.

2011-2012. “A high-resolution middle Pleistocene paleoclimate record from the Valles Caldera, New Mexico”.NSF (Nº 0902888). Investigador Asociado.

2009-2010. “Determination of nitrogen cycling in oxygen minimum zone waters from the eastern tropical Pacific” combining water column oceanographic data and nitrogen isotope paring incubation experiments” as a Research associate at the Max Planck Society.

2009-2010. “Determine the nitrogen isotope signature for anammox bacteria and its implications on the nitrogen isotope budget calculations” using anammox enrichment cultures and nitrogen isotope measurements in dissolved nitrogen compounds” as a Research associate at the Max Planck Society.

2009-2010. “Past oceanographic conditions off Peru margin from marine sediments (Site ODP 1229) and its relationship with deep sub-surface biogeochemistry” combining X-Ray-Fluorescence (XRF) core scanner, lipid biomarkers, and bulk and compound specific carbon isotope analyses” as a Post-doctorate fellow at the Max Planck Society.

2009-2010. “Modelling the depth of the Sulfate-Methane Transition Zone (SMTZ) in a dynamic deep biosphere” as a Post-doctorate fellow at the Max Planck Society.

2009-2010. “Organic matter characterization – what is the origin and composition of the organic matter and what is driving the different organic carbon mineralization rates in Svalbard fjords” as a Post-doctorate fellow at the Max Planck Society.

2008-2009. “Resolving terrigenous imprint and climate in the eastern equatorial Pacific (ODP Site 1239) during the last 300.000 kyr” as a Post-doctorate fellow at the Max Planck Society together with the Alfred Wegener Institute.

Publicaciones (*: WOS)

Frugone-Álvarez, M., Contreras, S., Meseguer-Ruiz, O., Delgado-Huertas, A., Valero-Garcés, B., Diaz, F.P., Briseño, M., Bustos, M., Tejos, E., Latorre Hidalgo, C., (2023) Hydroclimate variations over the last 17,000 years as measured by leaf waxes in vegetation physiognomic and rodent middens from the south-central Atacama Desert, Chile, Quaternary Science Reviews 311, 108084 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108084. *

Ramírez-Álvarez, Contreras, S., Vivancos, A., Reid, M., López-Rodriguez, R., Górski, K., (2022) Unpacking the complexity of longitudinal movement patterns of facultative amphidromous fish: implications for population recruitment, Scientific Reports 12, 3164 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06936-8. *

Cerda-Peña, C., Contreras, S., (2022) Characterization and chemo-taxonomic evaluation of plant leaf waxes (long chain n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanes and n-alkanols) as a vegetation biomarker from species of the South American Temperate Forest (STF), Ecological indicators 136, 108675 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108675. *

Contreras, S., Landahur, M., García, K., Latorre, C., Reyers, M., Rethemeyer, J., Jaeschke, A. (2022) Leaf wax composition and distribution of Tillandsia landbeckii reflects moisture gradient across the hyperarid Atacama Desert, Plan Systematics and Evolution (Topical collection: Living at its dry limits – Tillandsiales in Atacama Desert). Plant Systematics and Evolution 308 (8) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-021-01800-0. *

Véquaud, P., Thibault, A., Derenne, S., Anquetil, C, Collin S., Contreras, S., Nottingham, A., Sabatier, P., Salinas, N., Werne, J.P., Huguet, A. (2022) FROG: A global machine-learning temperature calibration for branched GDGTs in soils and peats, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 318, 468–494, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2021.12.007. *

Pérez-Santos, I., Díaz, P.A., Silva, N., Garreaud, R., Montero, P., Henríquez-Castillo, C., Barrera, F., Linford, P., Amaya, C., Contreras, S., Aracena, C., Pinilla, E., Altamirano, R., Vallejos, L., Pavez, J., Maulen, J. (2021) Oceanography time series reveals annual asynchrony input between oceanic and estuarine waters in Patagonian fjords, Science of the Total Environment 798, 149241. *

Véquaud, P., Derenne, S., Thibault, A., Anquetil, C, Bonanomi, G., Collin S., Contreras, S., Nottingham, A., Sabatier, P., Salinas, N., Scott, W.P., Werne, J.P., Huguet, A. (2021) Development of global temperature and pH calibrations based on bacterial 3-hydroxy fatty acids in soils. Biogeosciences Discuss. 18 (12), 3937-3959, doi.org/ 10.5194/bg-18-3937-2021. *

Wesley P. S., Contreras, S., Bowen, G.J., Arnold, T.E., Bustamante-Ortega, R., Werne, J.P. (2021) Lake water based isoscape in central-south Chile reflects meteoric water, Scientific Reports 11 (875), doi:10.1038/s41598-021-87566-4. *

Ruiz-Ruiz, PA, Contreras S, Urzúa A, Quiroga E, Rebolledo L (2021) Fatty acid biomarkers in three species inhabiting a high latitude Patagonian fjord (Yendegaia Fjord, Chile), Polar Biology doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02788-y. *

Ruiz-Ruiz, PA, Contreras S, Quiroga E, Urzúa A (2021) Bioenergetic traits of three keystone marine species in the food web of a pristine Patagonian fjord. Journal of Sea Research, 167, 101984, doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2020.101984. *

Cerda-Peña, Contreras S, Rau J (2020) Molecular n-alkyl leaf waxes of three dominant plants from the temperate forest in South America. Organic Geochemistry 149, 104105, doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2020.104105. *

Cifuentes G, Contreras S, Cerda-Peña (2020) Evaluation of the Foliar Damage That Threatens a Millennial-Age Tree, Araucaria araucana (Molina) K. Koch, Using Leaf Waxes. Forests 11(1), 59, https://doi.org/10.3390/f11010059. *

Contreras S, Werne JP, Araneda A, Urrutia R, Conejero CA (2018), Organic matter geochemical signatures (TOC, TN, C/N ratio, δ13C and δ15N) of surface sediment from lakes distributed along a climatological gradient on the western side of the southern Andes. Science of the Total Environment 630C, 878-888, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.225. *

Placencia JA, Contreras S (2018) Organochlorine pesticides in surface waters from Reloncaví Fjord and the inner sea of Chiloé (~ 39.5°S – 43°S), Chilean Patagonia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 126: 389-395, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.053. *

Johnson TC, Werne JP, Brown ET, Abbott A, Berke M, Steinman BA, Halbur J, Contreras S, Grosshuesch S, Sinninghe Damsté JS (2016) A progressively wetter climate in southern East Africa over the past 1.3 million years. Nature 537: 220-224. *

Contreras S, Werne JP, Brown ET, Anderson RS, Fawcett PJ (2016) A molecular isotope record of climate variability and vegetation response in southwestern North America during mid-Pleistocene glacial/interglacial cycles. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 459: 338–347. *

Pozo K, Kukučka P, Vaňková L, Přibylová P, Klánová P, Rudolph A, Banguera Y, Monsalves J, Contreras S, Barra R, Ahumada R (2015) Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in Concepción Bay, central Chile after the 2010 Tsunami. Marine Pollution Bulletin 95(1): 480–483, DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.03.011. *

Brunner B, Contreras S, Lehmann MF, Matantseva O, Rollog M, Kalvelage T, Klockgether G, Lavik G, Jetten MSM, Kartal B, Kuypers MMM (2013) Nitrogen isotope effects induced by anammox bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110(47): 18994-18999, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1310488110. *

Contreras S, Meister P, Liu B, Prieto-Mollar X, Hinrichs K, Khalili A, Ferdelman TG, Kuypers MMM, Jørgensen BB (2013) Cyclic 100 ka (glacial-interglacial) migration of sub-seafloor redox zonation on the Peruvian shelf. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110(45): 18098–18103, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1305981110. *

Schunck H, Lavik G, Desai DK, Großkopf T, Kalvelage T, Loescher C, Contreras S, Paulmier A, Mußman M, Holtappels M, Rosenstiel P, Schillhabel M, Graco M, Siegel H, Schmitz RA., Kuypers MMM, LaRoche J (2013) Giant sulfidic plume in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Peru supports chemolithoautotrophy. PLoS ONE 8(8): e68661, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068661. *

Galbraith E, Kienast M, Robinson RS, Albuquerque L, Altabet M, Batista F, Bianchi D., Calvert D, Contreras S, Crosta X, De Pol Holz R, Dubois N, Etourneau J, Francois R, Hsu T-Ch, Ivanochko T, Jaccard S, Kao S-J, Kiefer T, Kienast S, Lehmann MF, Martinez P, McCarthy, Meckler AM, Mix A, Möbius J, Pedersen T, Pichevin L, Quan TM, Robinson R, Ryabenko E, Schmittner A, Schneider R, Schneider-Mor A, Shigemitsu M, Sinclair D, Somes C, Studer A, Tesdal J-E, Thunell R, Yang J-Y (2013) The acceleration of oceanic denitrification during deglacial warming. Nature Geoscience 6: 579–584, DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1832. *

Kalvelage T, Lavik G, Contreras S, Arteaga L, Lam P, Löscher C, Oschlies A, Paulmier A, Stramma L, Kuypers MMM (2013) Nitrogen cycling driven by organic matter in the South Pacific oxygen minimum zone. Nature Geoscience 6: 228–234, DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1739. *

Robinson RS, Kienast M, Albuquerque L, Altabet M, Contreras S, De Pol Holz R, Dubois N, Francois R, Galbraith E, Hsu T-Ch, Ivanochko T, Jaccard S, Kao S-J, Kiefer T, Lehmann MF, Martinez P, McCarthy M, Möbius J, Pedersen T, Quan TM, Ryabenko E, Schmittner A, Schneider R, Schneider-Mor A, Shigemitsu M, Sinclair D, Somes C, Studer A, Thunell R, Yang J-Y (2012) A review of nitrogen isotopic alteration in marine sediments, Paleoceanography 27: PA4203, DOI: 10.1029/2012PA002321. *

Kalvelage T, Jensen M, Contreras S, Revsbech NP, Lam P, Günter M, LaRoche J, Lavik G, Kuypers MMM (2011) Oxygen sensitive of anammox and coupled N-cycle processes in Oxygen Minimum Zones. PLoS One 6(12): e29299, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029299. *

Contreras S, Lange CB, Pantoja S, Lavik G, Rincón-Martínez D, Kuypers MMM (2010) A rainy northern Atacama Desert during the last interglacial. Geophysical Research Letters 37: L23612, DOI: 10.1029/2010GL045728. *

Rincón-Martinez D, Lamy F, Contreras S, Leduc G, Bard E, Saukel C, Blanz T, Mackensen A, Tiedemann R.(2010) Wetter interglacials in Ecuador during the past 500 kyr and its relation to latitudinal shifts of the Equatorial Front in the eastern tropical Pacific. Paleoceanography 25: PA2210, DOI: 10.1029/2009PA001868, 2010. *

Contreras S, Pantoja S, Neira C, Lange C (2007) Biogeochemistry of surface sediments off Concepción (~36°S), Chile: El Niño vs. non-El Niño conditions. Progress in Oceanography 75: 576-585. *

Sepúlveda J, Pantoja S, Hughen K, Lange C, Gonzalez F, Muñoz P, Rebolledo L, Castro R, Contreras S, Avila A, Rossel P, Lorca G, Salamanca M, Silva N (2005) Fluctuations in export productivity over the last century from sediments of a southern Chilean fjord (44ºS). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 65(3): 587-600. *

Ahumada R, Rudolph A, Contreras S (2003) Evaluation of coastal waters receiving fish processing waste: Lota Bay as a case study. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment 90(1-3): 89-99. *

Ahumada R, Rudolph A, Contreras S (2002) Metal content (Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sr, V and Zn) in marine sediments from the Patagónica region (52º-56º S), Chile. Ciencia y Tecnología del Mar 25(2): 77-86.

Ahumada R, Contreras S (1999) Metal content (Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sr, V y Zn) in fjord and channel sediments adjacent to Campos de Hielo Sur. Ciencia y Tecnología del Mar 22: 47-58.

Hernández C, Contreras S, Gallardo J, Cancino J (1998) Communitarian structure of the Macroinfauna a long of the sandy beach in the central Chile: Lenga, San Vicente Bay. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 71: 303-311. *

Capítulos de libros

Pantoja S, Rossel P, Contreras S (2004) Chapter 22: Procesos Biogeoquímicos. In Biología Marina y Oceanografía: Conceptos y Procesos. C. Werlinger (Ed.). Gobierno de Chile.

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Profesor Asistente adjunto en la Universidad de Pittsburg

 

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